Ice

I was there, staring at the ice. I was wondering how anybody could not think it was beautiful. Some people were scared of it. Some people thought it was too dangerous. Some people thought that ice was only meant to cool your drink, and not fall from the sky or freeze a lake. Those people live in Florida.

I always found the ice fascinating. Beautiful, really. All of winter seemed so perfect. The snow would fall, and the world would seem muffled. Soundwaves would actually get trapped between snowflakes, making it actually quieter. Standing in a snowfall, hearing the world quiet down, was majestic. Yet, there I still was questioning whether or not I found the ice beautiful.

I always thought I did. The water that used to lap ever so gently against the bank, now stood still. Places that took 30, 40, or even 60 minutes to get to, now could take five minutes. As long as the ice didn't break on your way across. The ethereal sound a rock makes when you skip it across. The chill it gives you just being near it.

I didn’t know how long I had been there staring at the ice, but it seemed like years. I could feel the chill, to my bones, creeping ever more into me. I watched the ice as tiny little fractures were made. Maybe from the temperature rising, or the wind blowing, or small changes in the water, I didn’t know. I reached out my hand and put it on the ice. Feeling the smooth surface against my fingertips, as they got slightly colder than the rest of me. I left my hand there, feeling the ice, and after a little time I could feel the indentation where my hand had been.

The ice was thick and I wondered how hard it would be to break. Ice could be dangerous. Slick roads cause accidents. Frostbite, hypothermia, freezing to death are all dangerous conditions because of the cold. Some things can be both majestic and dangerous, I guess.

I didn't remember how I had gotten here. The last thing I did remember was being with her. Her name escaped me at the moment, but it was there somewhere. We were in a cabin, sitting by a fireplace. The heat from the fire, warming us from being in the cold. Just thinking about the fire warmed me up a little bit.

We sat there talking and laughing. She turned herself around and scooched up close to me. I held her tightly and then we started kissing. The feeling was unreal. She was beautiful, kind, considerate, funny, and overall, the best person I had ever met. At least, I thought so. After the kissing though, I couldn't remember anything else.

Now, I was just here, staring at the ice. Then, I remembered falling. Not physically, but in love. The woman in front of the fire. I was madly in love with her. I needed to get back to her. Yet, I couldn't move.

I could almost see her face in the ice. It was as if she was there on the other side of the ice. I could see the roundness of her face. The freckles that seemed to be endless. Her eyes were always a different color each time you looked at them. Then, her face slowly moved away and disappeared.

Now I really realized that I’d been here too long. I started to panic, thinking I might never see her again. I looked around and then the ice grabbed my attention again.

Someone was on the other side of it. I could see them moving. I got closer to the ice to get a better view. There was definitely someone there.

Just then, a big stick smashed right through the ice, almost hitting my face. I moved away from the ice as the stick broke through again. Again and again it broke through. Finally, after a little bit of this, a hand reached through the ice and grabbed me. I freaked out for a moment, then the hand pulled me through the ice.

Without realizing it, I was taking a deep breath. It was the first breath I’d taken in what seemed like forever. I sat there on the ice and looked at the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.

“Are you ok?” She asked. “Please don’t die.”

I laid there, soaked, in the arms of my love. She saved me from the frozen lake. I was drowning and didn’t know it.

“I’m good now, love,” I responded. “I’m good now.”